National Summertime Pack Award

This Award is meant for Cub Scouts.

A pack can qualify for the National Summertime Pack Award by planning and conducting three pack activities - one each in June, July, and August. This award can be an incentive for greater attendance at your summer pack activities. Individual scouts that participate in all three pack events can receive the National Summertime Pack Award pin. Starting in 2008, there is a different color pin for each Cub Scout rank so earning the pin each year has more incentive.

Qualifying packs receive a colorful streamer for their pack flag.

Dens with an average attendance of at least half their members at the three summer pack events will be eligible for a colorful den participation ribbon.

The purpose of the National Summertime Pack Award is to encourage packs to provide a year-round program by continuing to meet during the time periods when school is out of session for several weeks or months. If a pack is in a 'year-round school' (or is part of a home-school association), the pack could earn the Summertime Pack Award by having a special pack activity during those breaks.

A scout that earns the Summertime Pack Award pin should display it pinned on the right pocket flap. Multiple pins may be displayed from each year it is earned.If the scout has also earned the Outdoor Activity Award, it should be sewn on the right pocket flap and then the Summertime pin pinned through the patch.

I've not been able to find 'official' info on the ranked Summertime Pack awards yet, but the local Scout Shop folks agreed with me on this interpretation...

Since the goal of the Summertime award is to have Packs continue the program through the summer, the summertime award scouts receive should match their current rank rather than the rank they are working on.

Our Pack was told last year by the Unit that they won't pay for the Summertime pins anymore and that the pins are no longer being made...
Does anyone know how true this is??
Thanks,
Margrit

May 11, 2013 - Scouter Paul

Margrit - The pins are in stock at ScoutStuff.org

May 15, 2013 - Pam Fosnes

Our Pack does recruiting in May, so what pin do the new boys get? (mostly the new tigers)

May 15, 2013 - Scouter Paul

Pam - If your Pack defines the scout program year beginning in May, then the summer activities would count toward the 'new' rank. It's up to the Pack to define when the year starts, but then be consistent.
In your case, a boy that starts when school begins in September would not gt a Tiger pin since he missed that part of the prgram year.

May 18, 2013 - Amy H

The BSA defines the program year as going from June1-May31.
So if you recruit in May, the boys will go up to the next level on June 1st in council's records.
So that would mean that if a boy joins in May, he really doesn't start his scouting year working out of a new book til June 1st, although I'd suspect you'd work on bobcat stuff in May.
An example, we recruit kindergarteners to be Tigers in May.
Council won't accept their applications until June 1st, so we make sure the apps don't say kindergarten as their grade, it says 1st grade(most are out of kinder by then anyway and are incoming 1st graders).
So those boys will be the Tiger den, work from the Tiger book effective June 1st, and earn the Tiger summertime pack award. The boys who join in August, don't get the chance at that pin.

May 19, 2013 - Jodi H

Amy H. I believe the Summertime pin states that -- in most cases -- the scouts are working for the pin of the year that they just completed. So, your old "Tigers" would copmlete their Tiger pin. However, for Scouts who join in the summer, they would work on their incoming year, so they will be a year ahead on pins, but it should all work out in the end.

Jul 22, 2013 - Cathy B.

Can someone clarify this for me. I'm reading this as, if your pack has 3 activities over the summer, one each month, your pack qualifies for this award. Last summer our Cubmaster said we didn't qualify because only 3 scouts attended all 3 events so we didn't have 50%. I see that dens with 50% participation all summer get a special ribbon. To earn the pin do they just attend all 3 or is it if they participate in one during the summer?

Jul 22, 2013 - Yukon Jack

@ Cathy B. Your cubmaster is mistaken, they are seperate awards with the same name. The PACK gets the award if they have at last one event in each summer month: June, July, August. Then DEN gets a ribbon if 50% of each den participates in all 3 months' activities. The SCOUT gets the pin if he attends each month's event. Our pack gets the Pack SPA every year, and many boys get the pin...but our dens NEVER qualify due to the 50% requirement. Missing this one thing doesn't disqualify our boys or the pack as a whole. Hope this clarifies.

Jul 22, 2013 - Cathy B.

@Yukon Jack Thank you!!! That's how I was reading it. Very sad those 3 boys missed out on it last year!

Jul 22, 2013 - Yukon Jack

@ Cathy B. You're welcome. As an army vet and with OCD, things like uniform regulations, policies, and award paperwork I sorda can't help but go over until I memorize it. Also, there is nothing stopping you from filling out the SPA award form for last year (it's locally approved, unlike the Journey to Excellence which needs to be submitted the year immediately following the qualifying period). Anyway, just take the 2-page form on this website above and fill it out and buy the 3 pins for the three boys. (Be sure to date it for Summer 2012.) I back-do paperwork whenever I can to get awards for boys and scouters that should have earned them. Low level awards like this one are easy to correct past mistakes like this (and be sure you get the pin for the 3 boys for their den last year...not this year).

Jul 23, 2013 - Cathy B.

@ Yukon Jack!!! Huge thank you!!!! I will get on that!!!

Apr 29, 2014 - Lori W

Good Day. A question about this award. We have a couple scouts that have parents that are seperated / divorced and
are required to spend half the summer with the other parent. A parent asked me if because her son will be gone all of July, can he go to two events in June and one in August and still get the award. Its a valid problem I am suprised has not be addressed before?
Thanks

Apr 29, 2014 - Scouter Paul

@Lori - The requirements for the award are pretty set - one in each month. Sticking to that, the scout would need to attend a scouting activity in July. If not, then the next question would be doing all 3 activities in June. The next would be counting activities that happened in the winter.
Is the award important to the scout or just the parent? If the scout really wants it, then you might encourage him to find some scouting activity in the community where he will be spending July, even if it's with a different Pack. That's still not strictly following the requirements, but it's up to you.
The goal of the Pack award is to encourage Packs to be active all summer long. Sounds like the Pack is doing that.
The goal of the individual award is to recognize a scout for doing his best to help the Pack go. Making an extra effort to meet the requirements is showing he is doing that.

Jun 13, 2014 - Mickie

Hello,
I have been asking my Pack at Committee mtgs. every month about the Den summertime ribbons. We have the ribbon for the Pack, and all of the boys recieved thier pins, but we never got the ribbons for the dens that had 50% participation. Does anyone know where to get these or what they look like? Do they have the year on them, or are they generic? No one in our Pack seems to know how to get them. We are missing the 2013 ribbons and I would like to get them and also the have the knowledge for when it's time to order the 2014's. Thanks for any advice.

Jun 13, 2014 - Scouter Paul

@Mickie - Has anyone asked your local Scout Shop? See www.scoutstuff.org/rib-den-summer-awd-10pk.html
The den ribbon has no year on it.

Jul 07, 2014 - Tom

Does summer camp count as a pack event if the Pack is paying most or all of the fee for some of the boys? And including summer camp our Pack usually puts on 2 or more events each month during summer. Do the dens have to meet 50% for one specific event to get the ribbon or can they aggregate their attendance over the events for each individual month?

Jul 09, 2014 - Scouter Paul

@Tom - The goal of this award is to promote Pack participation over the summer. If the Pack promotes, schedules, and attends summer camp then you could call it a Pack Event.
For the den ribbon, it is specified as 50% at a single event each month. 25% at two events doesn't add up to 50%.

Sep 01, 2014 - Joanne

Our pack planned to attend a baseball game (semi-professional) and a Pack BBQ/kickball game in the month of August. No one went to the baseball game but we did have a great turn out for the BBQ event. I am being told that we cannot qualify for summertime pack award because of the baseball outing, however, I do not see why the BBQ does not count as a "pack event". Can you clarify?

Sep 01, 2014 - Scouter Paul

@Joanne - I'm with you. A Pack BBQ/picnic sounds like a Pack summertime activity to me. There is no percentage attendance requirement for the Pack award. If you are talking about an individual den ribbon, then at least 50% of the den members need to attend each of the 3 activities.
You could ask the person you've been talking to 'Why' the BBQ doesn't count. Maybe there's something else of which you and I are not aware.

Sep 24, 2014 - Scouter Rob

Does a scout have to participate in the event or just attend? so if my scout attended the Pack Space derby but didn't actually make a space rocket, but helped with set up and cheered for the other scouts does that count?

Sep 25, 2014 - Scouter Paul

@Rob - On the application form, it asks for the number of scouts "participating". I guess it would be up to your Pack how to interpret "participate".
My interpretation would be more along the lines of actively doing the program offered at the event, not cheering from the sidelines.

Jun 29, 2015 - Dennis Percell

After researching this award I have a few questions I hope I can get help with:

1. If 1 boy from each den goes to the planned event for June, July, August does the pack qualify for this event?2. The 50% rules applies to Dens correct? Or does it apply for total number of scouts that must attend each event?3. Only the scouts that participate in the events earn the award?

Thank youDMP Scouter

Jul 02, 2015 - Scouter Paul

@Dennis - 1. Yes, there is no attendance requirement for the
pack.2. It applies to dens.3. There are two awards - a ribbon
for qualifying packs, or a pin for qualifying individual scouts.

Aug 19, 2015 - Justin J

Ok here's a question that's stumping us. According to National's website, the Summertime Pack Award can be earned by youth AND adult pack members who take part in all three events, but the pins only come in Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos varieties. Which pins would the Cubmaster or Committee Chair earn if they attend all three Pack events?

Aug 22, 2015 - Jodi

To piggyback on Justin J's question, do Den Leaders who attend all 3 get the pin for the den they serve?

Aug 24, 2015 - Scouter Joe

@Justin J & Jodi - The Summertime Pack Awards do have pins for the boys in dens as stated above. These are for Cub Scouts to wear on the pocket patch. These are not designed for adult scouters, though feel free to award them just the same if you'd like.

What they mean that scouts and adults can earn it, they are referring to earning as a Pack; which you will receive a ribbon for your Pack flag in recognition of this.

I hope this answers your questions :)

Sep 22, 2015 - Lynn B

Our pack held den meetings, pack meetings, and one or two special events in June, July
and August. Plus, we had dens attending the appropriate camps offered during the
summer.

In regards to the pins for the scouts; if a scout manages to attend one pack
activity in each month, then does he qualify for the pin? Curious because the application
form does not lend itself to filling in more than one activity for each summer month.

Also, do we list everything the pack did in June, July and August or are you just
submitting your best attended activity for the pack ribbon? Again, the form leads me to
believe you can only fill in one activity per month. Thanks!

Sep 23, 2015 - Scouter Joe

@Lynn B As long as they attended at least one event in each month they qualify. You would list all events held, one is just required for the award.

Jul 19, 2016 - nichole

Question: If the pack doesn't qualify for the Summertime Pack Award due to lack of participation do the 2 dens that did participate at 50% still get the ribbon and the scouts that came to all 3 events still get their pin?

Jul 19, 2016 - Scouter Paul

@nichole - There is no minimum participation requirement for the
Pack. The Pack just needs to hold an outing in June, July, and
August.Dens that have at least 50% participation at each event
get the ribbon.Scouts that attend each event get the pin.

Sep 27, 2017 - Randy

Scoutbook.com states that the scouts earn the pin for the rank they are working on, not their
current rank. On their forums it was pointed out as a bug but they clarified that it isn't. Also,
the scout handbooks show that the scout can earn the pin for the book they have. Tiger book
shows the Tiger pin. Now on July 1 most scouts advance, Tigers become Wolfs and they get
the Wolf book. They are no longer working out of the Tiger book. They have a wolf book,
they're in a wolf den and their book says they can earn the wolf pin. So why would they get
the Tiger pin when everything else says they are a wolf scout. Being a wolf scout doesn't
mean your rank is Wolf. It just means you are "A boy who is 8 years old or is in the second
grade" (cubscouts.org/library/welcome-to-wolf-cub-scouting/)

Sep 27, 2017 - Scouter Paul

@Randy - I've not yet heard of the BSA stating what you wrote,
but the BSA has apparently stated that the schedule in the
content of this page is correct three separate times:

- two BSA
employees told me directly when I asked- comment from Nancy on
August 14 near the bottom of
blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2017/05/02/halt-hibernation-
with-the-national-summertime-pack-award/- comment from Eugene
on
www.scoutbook.com/mobile/forums/bugs/76958/summertime-
pin-being-awarded-to-wrong-level-of-scout/?Page=1

Many packs do
it differently, but until the BSA changes their response to
inquiries or posts guidelines, I feel this page as written
follows BSA guidance.